If you see some manufacturing defects in the intake I would have them get you another one. scaling in Alluminium is usually a sign of poor construction/poor bends and that could mean structural weakness or poor airflow. I would ask for an exchange, If they cant/wont exchange it for a new one then I would use some very fine sandpaper to smooth it out, The ECU does not rely on the texture in the intake tubing but it does rely on a very specific diameter before the MAF. Opening the diameter before the MAF will cause the air to be moving at a slower rate than expected, DO NOT HONE BEFORE THE MAF. If there is scaling after the MAF go to town, once the MAF has accounted for the air you can smooth it out all you like. Just remember that you are sanding behind the filter so clean it like its going to space.

If it were me I would try to exchange it for a smooth one, or I would choose another manufacturer for your intake. if that's out the window then hone away.

I don't know what year your car is . If it's an 02-07(probably the same on all years) Send it back. Get your money back and use it to buy tires,sways or something else useful. next time you grill out, throw an ice cube on the coals and see how much it changes the temp. Cause that's what you are doing with a CAI on a turbo charged car. Your sending cool air to the hottest thing on your car and it ain't gonna' do squat! Then it becomes a matter of air flow. With an intake silencer delete and a proper drop in filter you will have enough air flow for up to 400whp.See link. Intake FAQ: Read if you are thinking of buying one! - NASIOC And for the love of god, don't get a BOV. Just as worthless and causes even more problems.

All right, where is the distributor cap? I need to find the #1 plug wire to hook up my SUN machine.

This is not the time or the place, TonnyGuns has a specific issue with a specific question.

If we want to talk about 400 whp builds there's plenty of space on the forums for that. To defend Fidrat, with proper supporting mods, turbo upgrade, and a proper tune you CAN achieve 400hp on the stock intake, with or without the silencer delete. To support brfatal its not easy doing that with the stock intake and it would put undue stress on the turbo to be sucking air in through a bendy straw. Nothing is impossible but its not the easiest way get additional power.

Tommygunn If your shooting for a final output above 350 a nice smooth intake is money well spent and so is time spent with your tuner.

IDK about you but I can touch the cool side of my turbo after driving the car and its just a little warm, that is what your air is passing through, then it gets compressed, and that causes the air to heat up, which is why we have an intercooler. I do agree that the consensus is the stock air box's airflow rate is good enough for up to 400whp builds, thats been the consensus for a long time.

OP, as long as you are tuned for it, there is no issue getting a intake if that is what you want to do with your car, as mentioned, BOV's do cause issues and are best to stay away from unless you get a blow through pipe with a front mount intercooler set up, or a speed density setup. A intake will get you that pssht sound from the stock BPV if you like that sound. I don't know how you want to build your car, but going stage 2, opening up the exhaust to hear that subaru rumble, and working on suspension will make your car an absolute blast to drive while keeping it reasonably reliable.

With these cars you really need to do a lot of research for each mod you want to do.

I just repeated what I read in my link. If anyone has issue with it take it up with Big Ron AKA Unabomber . He is a well known moderator on NASIOC.

In case you missed it...
"The majority of major Subaru tuners agree that the stock intake is adequate to power levels in the 400HP range."

I'm just a messenger. Peace.

I'm aware of where you got it from. I know Ron. The problem is that you are misinterpreting the quote. Ron's wording is deliberate. He said adequate, not ideal. Even on a stage 2 car he stands to gain enough power with a good intake that will make the investment worthwhile. And he's not talking about whp, he's talking about crank. 400 chp is just a little over 300 whp.

I agree that he should try to return it. The SPT SRI is comparable to the stock airbox with the silencer removed until he makes a good bit more power, in which case the SPT is more restrictive than the airbox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcticscythe

If we want to talk about 400 whp builds there's plenty of space on the forums for that. To defend Fidrat, with proper supporting mods, turbo upgrade, and a proper tune you CAN achieve 400hp on the stock intake, with or without the silencer delete. To support brfatal its not easy doing that with the stock intake and it would put undue stress on the turbo to be sucking air in through a bendy straw. Nothing is impossible but its not the easiest way get additional power.

No, I said specifically that the stock intake can in no way support that amount of power. The MAF housing is too small and you max out at 300 g/sec air flow before you will ever hit 400 whp. That means you capped to around 350 whp. An oversized intake (Perrin BigMAF, KSTech 73mm, APS 70mm, etc) is required to hit 400 to get past maxing out the MAF sensor voltage.

I'd rather snuff out what was posted here rather than 4 times later down the road because people read it and assumed it was true. And his question was already answered anyways. He will need a retune whether he hones it or not. The SPT's MAF housing is smaller than stock and this will slightly skew MAF readings.

I'd rather snuff out what was posted here rather than 4 times later down the road because people read it and assumed it was true. And his question was already answered anyways. He will need a retune whether he hones it or not. The SPT's MAF housing is smaller than stock and this will slightly skew MAF readings.

Im gonna withdraw my argument for the sake of the other users on these forums. Your right we really shouldn't be setting a bad example and spreading information that people might take the wrong way.

If you want to talk about making the impossible, possible I would love to have a theory conversation about the upper limits of open system compressors, poly carbonate housings stand alone engine management and the limits of synthetic media filters but that doesn't belong in this thread.

Hey fellas, I just wanted to say that I'm enjoying the intake fine "As cast" at the moment. The parts were quality except for some sketcht bolt threads. No issues. I took out the silencer in the fenderwell also.
I've read a lot about what the intake will and won't do.
My review-
Going form a stock set up, my engine can now breathe! My car felt like a wet rag on acceleration before. But the open intake has a crisp throttle feel now. I do love the whistle, and the pssh sound. It has more of a growl as well. And that's why I made this mod. For the trip up to the store or the side road launch, I like it. I got it for a very nice price at a Subaru dealer 165.
My next move..
For performance and durability, I'm replacing my stock up pipe with a catless one. I found a guy in my area who loves to work on these cars (He's got a WRX and an STI). Extremely nice dude and said he can slap it in in about 45 mins. I had to make him take money to do it. Anyway that's next.
I LOVE my 05 WRX! Coming from Stangs to this is a different world. I went from Barbarian to Ninja. Thanks to all who chimed in, I can always use other's advice.